ICSF Climate Change and Fisheries Perspectives From SSF, Nov 2011

7/24/2019 ICSF Climate Change and Fisheries Perspectives From SSF, Nov 2011

1/72

SAMUDRAMonograph

Climate Change and Fisheries:Perspectives from Small-scaleFishing Communities in India

on Measures to Protect Life andLivelihood

Venkatesh Salagrama

International Collective in Support of Fishworkers

www.icsf.net

Climate

ChangeSSF


2/72

About the Author

Venkatesh Salagrama ([email protected]) has beenworking in fisheries for over 20 years now, the first nine yearswith the Bay of Bengal Programme of the FAO (FAO-BOBP)and latterly as an independent consultant. His area of interest/work is small-scale fisheries and livelihoods. Within thisbroad area, he has worked for a wide range of national andinternational agencies on diverse topics such as post-harvest

issues and marketing, trade, fisheries management, and livelihoodenhancement and diversification.

Acknowledgements

ICSF would like to acknowledge the support of the HeinrichBll Foundation (HBF) towards the conduct of this study.Headquartered in Berlin and with about 28 international offices,HBF conducts and supports civic educational activities and

projects worldwide. For more, please visit http://in.boell.orgGrateful acknowledgements also to the Norwegian Agencyfor Development Co-operation (Norad), the Swedish Societyfor Nature Conservation, and Misereor for supporting theprogrammes of ICSFrelated to climate change and other issues.

This study commenced in 2011 and was initially undertaken byFahmeeda Hanfee, an independent researcher. ICSF would liketo thank her for launching the project and undertakingpreliminary field visits in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.


3/72

SAMUDRAMonograph

Climate Change and Fisheries:Perspectives from Small-scaleFishing Communities in India

on Measures to Protect Life andLivelihood

Venkatesh Salagrama

International Collective in Support of Fishworkers

www.icsf.net


4/72

SAMUDRAMonograph

Climate Change and Fisheries: Perspectives from Small-scale Fishing

Communities in India on Measures to Protect Life and Livelihood

Written by

Venkatesh Salagrama

May 2012

Edited by

KG Kumar

Layout by

P Sivasakthivel

Cover

Fisherfolk houses, Cuff Parade, Mumbai, India

Photo by

Shuddhawati Peke/ICSF

Printed at

L.S. Graphic Prints, 25 Swamy Naicken Street,Chindhadripet, Chennai 600 002

Published byInternational Collective in Support of Fishworkers27 College Road, Chennai 600 006, IndiaTel: +91 44 2827 5303 Fax: +91 44 2825 4457Email: [email protected]

In collaboration with

Heinrich Bll Stiftung - IndiaC-20, First Floor, Qutub Institutional Area

New Delhi 110016, IndiaTel: +91-11-2685 4405 Fax:+91-11-2651 6695Email: [email protected]://in.boell.org

Copyright ICSFand HBF2012

ISBN 978 93 80802 06 0

While ICSFreserves all rights for this publication, any portion of it may be freely copiedand distributed, provided appropriate credit is given. Any commercial use of this material

is prohibited without prior permission. ICSFwould appreciate receiving a copy of anypublication that uses this publication as a source.

The opinions and positions expressed in this publication are those of the authorsconcerned and do not necessarily represent the official views of ICSF.


5/72

Contents

Acronyms and Abbreviations ...................................................................................... v

Author's Acknowledgements ...................................................................................... vii

Executive Summary ...................................................................................................... ix

1. Introduction ............................................................................................... 1

2. Objectives of the Study .............................................................................. 1

3. Methodology .............................................................................................. 2

4. Study Locations ......................................................................................... 3

5. General Context of Fisheries in India ....................................................... 4

6. Fishers Perceptions about Climate Change and Fisheries ...................... 6

7. Key Climate-change Factors Affecting Fisheries ...................................... 7

8. Probable Causes of Climate-change Issues Affecting Fisheries .............. 16

9. Consequences of the Changes upon the Lives and

Livelihoods of Fishers ............................................................................... 21

10. Adaptation or Mitigation Measures (Coping Strategies)

Undertaken by the Fishers to Address the Changes ................................ 32

11. Conclusion: The Viability and Sustainability of the

Coping Strategies in Place ......................................................................... 43

12. Measures to Protect Lives and Livelihoods of Small-scale Fishing

Communities in the Context of Climate Change: Suggestions from

the Fishers .................................................................................................. 47

Endnotes ......................................................................................................... 52


6/72

List of Boxes

Sudden Rains ............................................................................................................................. 10

Localized Disasters .................................................................................................................... 12

Vembanad Lake, Kerala............................................................................................................. 14

Migrants into Fishing: Twice Damned by Climate Change? ............................................... 36

PFZInformation as a Guide for Good Fishing Areas ......................................................... 38

Map

Map of Study Locations .......................................................................................................... 53


7/72

SAMUDRAMonograph

v CLIMATE CHANGE AND FISHERIES

Acronyms and Abbreviations

AIG alternative income generation

CCPMS climate change preparedness and mitigation strategy

CCRF Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries

CESS Centre for Earth Science Studies

CIFE Central Institute of Fisheries Education

CIFRI Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute

CIFT Central Institute of Fisheries Technology

CMFRI Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute

CRZ coastal regulation zone

CVI coastal vulnerability index

CSO civil society organization

DAT distress alert transmitter

DOF Department of Fisheries

FISHMARC Fisheries Management Resource CentreFRL full reservoir level

FRP fibre-reinforced plastic

GHG greenhouse gas

GPS global positioning system

HACCP hazard analysis critical control points

HP horsepowerHSD high-speed diesel

IBE inboard engine

ICAR Indian Council of Agricultural Research

ICZMP integrated coastal zone management programme

INCCA Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment

IRTC Integrated Rural Technology Centre

KSMTF Kerala Swatantra Matsya Tozhilali Federation


8/72

SAMUDRAMonograph

viCLIMATE CHANGE AND FISHERIES

LPG liquefied petroleum gas

MFRA Marine Fishing Regulation Act

MGNREGS Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment GuaranteeScheme

MLA Member of Legislative Assembly

MMKS Maharashtra Macchimar Kruti Samiti

MOEF Ministry of Environment and Forests

MSSRF M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation

NAPCCNational Action Plan on Climate Change

NCDC National Co-operative Development Corporation

NFF National Fishworkers Forum

NICRA National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture

OBM outboard motor

PFZ potential fishing zone

PPT parts per thousand

PRI panchayati raj institution

SAPCC State Level Strategy and Action Plan

SDB Sundarban Development Board

SETTD Socio Economic Evaluation and Technology Transfer Division

SEZ special economic zone

SIFFS South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies

SIFT State Institute of Fisheries Technology

UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

VAT value-added tax


9/72

SAMUDRAMonograph

vii CLIMATE CHANGE AND FISHERIES

AUTHOR'S ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study is the outcome of a team effort, and the author gratefully acknowledges

the excellent assistance received from the following individuals in planning, co-ordination, and implementation of the field studies:

In Andhra Pradesh: M Srirama Murthy, Arjilli Dasu and

B L Narasimha Raju In Maharashtra: Moreshwar Vaithy, Ujjwala Patil and Purnima Meher

In West Bengal: Dipankar Saha

In Kerala: Sajith Sukumaran

Special thanks are due to S Bhaskara Sarma for his extensive contributions tothe development, field testing and revision of the field-study methodology, as

well as for undertaking the field work and the validation exercises in AndhraPradesh and Kerala.

Grateful acknowledgement is made to the timely help and advicereceived from R Narayana Kumar, Head of Division, SEETTD, CMFRI;R Ramasubramanian of MSSRF, Kakinada; and K Vijayakumaran, DirectorGeneral, Fishery Survey of India, who ensured the study remained on track.

Thanks are also due to a number of other individuals and institutions in the fourStates covered.

In Andhra Pradesh: Surada Nageswararao; Nakka Ammoriyya; BalasadiRangarao; K Hema Sundareswara Rao; G Ravi and Karri Kondamma;

T Rajya Lakshmi; S S H Razvi and his team at CIFE, Kakinada; and V Suresh andhis team at SIFT, Kakinada.

In Kerala: K V Thomas, Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS),Thiruvananthapuram; B K Jaya Prasad, CESS; A J Vijayan and Nalini Nayakof Protsahan; Ansalam A. John of SIFFS; P Asokan of Arattupuzha; Johnson of

Andhakaranazhi; U R Girish of Alappuzha; Jackson Pollayil; Lal Koiparambil;T J Anjelose; A K Mathew, Coordinator (Livelihoods), IRTC, Palakkad;

P. Prakash of FishMARC; Girish and Anoop, District Mission Coordinators,

Theeramythri Project; Jackson Pollayil, Kumbalam Rajappan of KSMTF andfishermen of Arattupuzha and Andhakaranazhi, Kerala.


10/72


11/72

SAMUDRAMonograph

ix CLIMATE CHANGE AND FISHERIES

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The study on Climate Change and Fisheries: Perspectives from Small-scaleFishing Communities in India on Measures to Protect Life and Livelihood hasbeen undertaken by the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF)

with the following objectives:

assess perceptions of fishing communities about the impact of climatevariability/change on their lives and livelihoods;

assess knowledge, institutions and practices of fishing communities ofrelevance to climate-change preparedness;

identify adaptation and mitigation measures that may need to be adopted byfishing communities and the State in relation to climate change; and

propose measures to protect the lives and livelihoods of small-scalefishingcommunities in the context of climate-change policies and programmes at

different levels.

The study involved consultations with keyfisheries-based stakeholders in selectedlocations in four States of India (Maharashtra and Kerala on the west coast,and West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh on the east coast). The methodology waspiloted in April 2011 in Maharashtra. It was subsequently refined, and detailedconsultations were undertaken in all four locations during July-August 2011. Thisreport presents the key findings from the field interactions.

The study finds growing evidence that, in the perception of fishing communities,

climate change has been influencing the viability of fishing operations, requiringfishers to take a wide range of adaptive and mitigation measures. However, climatechange needs to be understood as adding a new dimension to the crisis already facedin the fisheries sector; field interactions indicate that climate change follows upon,aggravates, and is, in turn, aggravated by the larger processes affecting fisheries,and hence cannot be viewed as a standalone entity. It is also quite clear that whileclimate change is a global process, it is aggravated by local processes and practices,

which means that efforts to address it must cover a range of activities from the

global level down to that of the individualfisher in a remote fishing community.As such, the efforts to address climate change must encompass a wider range ofactivities, extending beyond those directly focusing on climate change alone, and


12/72

SAMUDRAMonograph

xCLIMATE CHANGE AND FISHERIES

concentrating also on enhancing the overall resilience and adaptive capacities offishing communities.

The key areas relating to climate change that have an impact upon the lives andlivelihoods of fishers include:

sea level

sea-surface temperature

sea-surface salinity

wind patterns

seasonality and seasonal patterns

rainfall

natural disasters

waves and currents

tidal action

mud flows and turbidity

shoreline changes (erosion and sedimentation)

The factors contributing to changes in these areas are frequently mixed, originatingas much (often, more) from local processes as from global changes, and could

be broadly categorized into natural (or global), fisheries and non-fisheries(external) factors. While fishers are frequently unable to understand or explainthe natural processes affecting the changing sea and environmental conditions,their understanding of the more immediate causes involving the fisheries andthe non-fisheries factors is quite good. Although the direct contribution of thefisheries sector to aggravating climate-change processes is considered to be low,there is evidence that some practices and processes within the sector could beexacerbating the impacts of climate change on the lives and livelihoods of fishers.

These include:growing fishing fleet size, engine power and capacity;

destructive and ecologically unsoundfishing practices; and

poor engine and fuel efficiencies.

External (non-fisheries) factors are more significant in terms of aggravatingclimate-change-related processes, and include a range of processes relating to,among others, industries, nuclear/thermal power plants, tourism, defence, portsand shipping, agriculture and irrigation, mining, and urban development. Their

impacts include:pollution;

competition for coastal space and resources;


13/72

SAMUDRAMonograph

xi CLIMATE CHANGE AND FISHERIES

shoreline changes; and

destruction of fish habitats and sensitive ecosystems.

Increasing population, both within and outside the fishing communities,is said to put extra pressure on the resources, and further aggravate theclimate-change processes and their impacts.

The impacts of the climate-change processeswhich are frequently mixed up withthose of a number of other factors in the fisheries sectorare felt by differentfisheries stakeholders in the following areas:

access to, and availability of, fish and other coastal resources (such asmangroves);

fishing systems and conditions;

terms of access to fishing grounds;

fishing investments and returns;

access to markets and terms of fish trade;

quality of life;

sea-safety concerns;

traditional knowledge, practices and governance systems; and

domestic economies.The changed overall context contributes to increasing uncertainty andfluctuatingincomes, which lead to contrasting responses on the east and west coasts. On theeast coast (Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal), the fishers tend to fish less anddiversify into several activities, ranging from working as fishing crew in other(west-coast) States to unskilled, low-paying, non-fisheries occupations within, andbeyond, their area. On the west coast, the increasing uncertainty leads to a strategyto survive by fishing, for example, by investing more in the activity in order to go

farther out into the sea and catch morefi

sh. For the immediate future, this strategymay appear to be successful, but the long-term implications remain uncertain.

The impacts of climate change and related processes on women in fisheries areperceived to be significant on both sides of the coast, marginalizing women fromtheir traditional occupations and increasing their burden by requiring them to earnmore for household incomes.

In the face of the challenges affecting their livelihoods, thefishing communitiesare seen to be undertaking a range of adaptive and mitigation measures, not all

of which are successful and some of which may even aggravate their overallcondition as well as the climate-change processes. Some of the fisheries-relatedcoping strategies adapted by the fishers to cope with the stresses they have been


14/72

SAMUDRAMonograph

xiiCLIMATE CHANGE AND FISHERIES

facing (including the impacts induced by climate change) relate to:

diversification in terms of targetedfish and fishing grounds;

changes to fishing duration and fishing systems (in terms of boat sizes andonboard equipment, fishing gears, techniques and engine efficiencies);

usage of migrant workers and technological innovations, alongside othercost-saving measures; and

changing ownership and sharing patterns.

At the household level, occupational diversification is on the rise, while there areconscious efforts to educate the younger generation to give them an option tomove out of the fisheries.

Currently, the level of institutional responses to climate-change impacts onfisheries is still in the early stages, and focused on technical aspects; the human andsocioeconomic implications of the various changes are yet to be fully understood.

Though the coast and coastal communitiescoastal fishing communities, inparticularare widely regarded as among the most impacted by climate change,there is no specific focus in the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)on the coastal ecosystem or on coastal communities. None of the eight missions

set up under the NAPCCrelate to the coast, and there is no specific mission on

the coast. Moreover, in the State-level action plans currently being prepared, aswell as in the research being undertaken, there is no effort to consult with coastalcommunities to seek their views on the perceived impact of climate change andthe sort of responses that are needed.

In the absence of the fishers representation in the decision-making processes,the various conservation measures being undertaken to protect sensitive speciesor ecosystems, seen as contributing to climate-change adaptationand the

way they are implementedhave been having an adverse impact on the fishingcommunities, further exacerbating their conditions. The role of civil societyorganizations (CSOs) in dealing with climate change in fisheries at the local levelsis very limited, while the capacity of thefishworker organizations will need to begreatly strengthened before they can meaningfully assist fishing communities tocope with some of the changes or undertake mitigation measures or influenceclimate-change policy.

The existing institutional mechanisms of relevance to climate change andfisheriesare characterized by:

multiplicity of legal systems and processes, and the absence of unified/integrated frameworks to cope with the issues;

protection and conservation programmes that attempt to exclude or


15/72

SAMUDRAMonograph

xiii CLIMATE CHANGE AND FISHERIES

constrain livelihood activities in ecologically sensitive areas, aggravating thecrisis of dependent communities;

weakness of the support systems to help the fishers cope with the changes

and the institutional responses to them;

government programmes that aggravate the crisis;

poor implementation, or weakening, of existing legislation;

lack of controls on upstream processes; and

lack of space for fishers in the decision-making/policy-formulationprocesses.

The final section of the study discusses the measures to help the fishers cope

better with climate change and its impacts. While a comprehensive strategy toprotect the lives and livelihoods of fishing communities in the context of climate

change, which also addresses the issues identified above as well as the other majordrivers of climate change, is obviously needed, this section identifies selected keymeasures considered as of high priority byfishing communities:

enhance focus on coastal issues and representation of fishing communitiesin policymaking and research processes;

increase awareness among fishing communities and other stakeholders;

improve fisheries management through bottom-up adaptive processes;improve engine types and efficiencies for better economic and ecologicalimpacts;

address issues of sea safety and of migrant fishers;

address non-fisheries issues that affect fisheries resources and the quality oflife of fishing communities;

strengthen planning and measures for disaster and disaster preparedness;

improve access to basic services and decent housing; andpromote livelihood diversification through consultative processes.


16/72


17/72

SAMUDRAMonograph

1 CLIMATE CHANGE AND FISHERIES

Climate Change and Fisheries: Perspectives from

Small-scale Fishing Communities in India on

Measures to Protect Life and Livelihood

1. INTRODUCTION

Climate change has been attracting growing attention for its immediateand potential impacts upon the environment and human populations.Marine and coastal ecosystems are considered to be extremely vulnerable

to climate-change processes such as ocean warming and sea-level rise, which havea direct impact upon the lives and livelihoods of coastal fishing communities. Amajor limitation in the current engagement with climate change and its impacts on

fisheries and fishing communities is that it is based mainly on technical studiesthe perceptions and proposals of fishing communities themselves have receivedscant attention. There is no specific focus on coasts or fisheries in the nationaland State-level action plans on climate change, with the result thatfishers will notonly be unable to benefit from the measures proposed, but will also increasinglyfind themselves further marginalized and more vulnerable to the impacts of, andthe responses to, climate change.

This report is the outcome of a study undertaken byICSF, which aimed to highlight

the perspectives of fishing communities on the implications of climate changeand variability on their lives and livelihoods, and to highlight the importanceof developing and implementing adaptation and mitigation measures throughconsultative processes to address their poverty and food-security issues.

2. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main focus of the study is to obtain fishers perspectives on the key climate-

change related threats affecting their lives and livelihoods, in particular fromchanged work and occupational patterns and from changed distribution of fishery

resources. The objectives are:


18/72

SAMUDRAMonograph

2CLIMATE CHANGE AND FISHERIES

assess perceptions of fishing communities about the impact of climatevariability/change on their lives and livelihoods;

assess knowledge, institutions and practices of fishing communities ofrelevance to climate-change preparedness;

identity adaptation and mitigation measures that may need to be adopted byfishing communities and the State in relation to climate change; and

propose measures to protect the lives and livelihoods of small-scalefishing

communities in the context of climate-change policies and programmes atdifferent levels.

3. METHODOLOGY

For the purpose of this study, climate change has been understood in the sensethat the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)defines it: as a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activitythat alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is, in addition to natural climate

variability, observed over comparable time periods1. This provides greater scope to relateclimate change to human activities (both fisheries-related and non-fisheries-related), and thus build it into the larger context of issues affectingfisheries andto identify holistic adaptation/mitigation strategies to cope with it.

The study began in January 2011 with a literature review focusing on differentaspects of climate change of relevance to Indian coastal andfishing communities.

The findings of the review were discussed at a scoping workshop conductedin Chennai in February 2011. Together, the literature review and the scoping

workshop provided a range of key climate-change factors of importance to Indianfisheries, which were consolidated to develop a methodology forfield studies.

The methodology for participatory consultations with key stakeholders in eachlocation was piloted in Andhra Pradesh using a simple 4-C framework (Change-Cause-Consequence-Coping strategy), which involved:

key climate-change-related changes affecting the lives and livelihoods of

coastal fishers;

main causescontributing to climate change in coastal areas;

consequences (impacts) of climate change on lives and livelihoods in terms of

access to various resources relating to life and livelihood; and

coping strategies (adaptive/mitigation strategies) both by the fishingcommunities and by the relevant institutional stakeholders.


19/72

SAMUDRAMonograph


Alongside, the consultative process also discussed the fishers ideas for moreeffective adaptation/mitigation measures at various levels (from the individual/community level to the national policy level) to better address the impacts of

climate change.

Based on the methodology developed, field visits of about 10 days each wereundertaken to the four States during July-August 2011, and the field interactions

were conducted in collaboration with local organizations and fishworker

unions. The field work in the selected locations involved informal interviewswith groups as well as with individuals, with special attention paid to capturethe perspectives of women and other vulnerable groups. Besides the fishingcommunities, other relevant institutional stakeholders in fisheries (government,

research institutes, and CSOs) were also contacted to obtain their perspectives onclimate change, and to determine the adaptive/mitigation strategies currently inplace. At the conclusion of each State visit, a consultative workshop was organizedto bring together the key stakeholders from the communities covered as well asfrom relevant organizations, and the findings from the field work were discussed,

validated and updated. The four State presentations were used as the basis forconsolidation of this study report.

4. STUDY LOCATIONS

Field work was undertaken in selected locations in the four coastal States of India,two on the east coast (West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh) and two on the westcoast (Maharashtra and Kerala). The choice of the locations for thefield work wasbased upon specific criteria related to socioeconomic and physical vulnerability to

climate change, using the following information based on maps of:

coastal vulnerability index ( CVI)

cyclone-prone areas

housing ( katchaandpucca houses) (based on CMFRIcensus)

levels of literacy (based on CMFRIcensus)

extension of the northern boundaries of oil sardine stocks

The specific coastal districts in which the field work was done were:

Maharashtra: Mumbai and Thane districts

Kerala: Alapuzha district

Andhra Pradesh: East Godavari and Visakhapatnam districts

West Bengal: South 24 Parganas district


20/72

SAMUDRAMonograph


Maps showing the specific locations covered by the study in each State areprovided (see page 53). Given the small geographical area covered and therelatively short time available in each State, it is necessary to suggest that the

conclusions of the studyalthough validated at different levelsshould be treatedas provisional and as a first step towards more intensive and detailed studies. Allthe same, the broad trendswhich show remarkably similar patterns in all fourStatesare valid and applicable to a wider area than is covered by the study.

5. GENERAL CONTEXT OF FISHERIES IN INDIA

This section is intended to serve as a backgrounder to the overall context infisheries in which climate-change factors are unfolding. In general, the level of

socioeconomic development in the fishing communities is considered to beweak compared to other coastal dwellers, making them outliers in the overalldevelopment processes. While the fishing communities in the west coast States like Gujarat and Maharashtra show a much better level of socioeconomicdevelopment, their counterparts on the east coast are much poorer, more

vulnerable and less integrated into the mainstream. Some of the Sundarbans(Sunderbans) fisheries (in West Bengal) are possibly the least developed amongthe four States, and the fishers here are the least equipped to handle challenges

currently facing the sector or the emerging threats like climate change. Even inmore developed States like Maharashtra, access to basic services like literacy,health, sanitation, and decent and safe housing is low amongfishing communities,

which reduces their capacity to understand and cope with the processes affectingtheir lives and livelihoods and to diversify or seek alternatives.

Since the 1990s, small-scale households in India have seen incomes from fishingfluctuating wildly, with the fishers on the east coast particularly hard hit byuncertain incomes. Although the modernization processbegun in the

1950scontributed to improving small-scalefi

shers access to technologies,resources, markets and incomes in the beginning, the inherent contradictionsin the process led not only to a failure to bring the small-scale fishers out oftheir poverty, but actually made them more vulnerable to emerging threats suchas climate change. The crisis in the sector is the outcome of a range of factors,

which can be summarized, inter alia, as:

overcapacity and capital-intensive fishing practices;

uncertain fish catches and decline of several commercial species thatcontributed to much of the fishers incomes;

competition and conflicts for fishing grounds and fishery resources at sea,also affecting the traditional inter-relationships among the fishers on thecoast;


21/72

SAMUDRAMonograph


growing costs of production as a result of increasing investments inproductive assets and their operations;

rising levels of indebtedness (largely to informal sources), with cost of creditaccounting for a sizeable proportion of the earnings;

greater competition faced by women of fishing communities in accessingfish and markets, especially for higher-value fish; and

long and uncertain market supply chains, consisting of several trader-

intermediaries who could dictate the terms of access to the markets for theproducers through credit linkages, preservation and transport systems, andmarket information.

In the face of the crisis, the support from the government tofisheries, particularlyto small-scale artisanal fisheries, has remained paltry, and hardly commensurate

with the scale of support that is actually required. More alarmingly, the economicpotential of opening up the coastal space for industrial development has cometo receive high policy priority, and the State has been taking an active role indeveloping vast stretches of coastal commons for industrialization, frequentlyalienating the fishers from their living spaces and livelihoods. At yet another level,the enforcement of several conservation policies and their implementation have

led to further marginalization and even criminalization of traditional activities likefishing.

Thus, for the fishers, the crisis is an outcome of processes within the sector and,increasingly, one of competition with more powerful outside forces, backed by

the State and its legal systems. The situation is exacerbated by the relative absenceof strong institutional mechanisms among the fishers, hindering their ability totake collective actions or to put forth their responses in a meaningful manner.

The customary community-based governance systems, which still prevail in some

areas, lack the capacity to transcend the village (and/or caste) boundaries. Eventheir existing powers have been greatly weakened with: (i) the States unwillingnessto recognize their existence; (ii) the arrival of new State-backed structures andlaws as well as new players from the outside; and (iii) the impact of externalpressures that affect cohesion within fishing communities.

The fishers responses to the crisis show a contradictory trend between the eastand the west coasts. On the west coast, despite the various constraints faced bythe sector, fisheries in Maharashtraand, to a lesser extent, Keralaare still a

paying proposition, and here the response has been to increase the efficiencies ofthe fishing systems to undertake more intensive fishing operations. On the eastcoast (Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal), while a similar trend is observed in some


22/72

SAMUDRAMonograph


fisheries, the low level of surpluses and savings at the household level discouragefresh and additional investments beyond a particular limit, which forces thefishersto look beyond fisheries to meet their livelihood needs. Thus, the diversification

effort in these States also involves moving into non-fisheries and non-traditionalactivities both within and beyond the local areas, often stretching to inter-State andeven international migrations. The impacts of the crisis on women are manifestedin their marginalization from fisheries activities and, mainly on the east coast, in

the growing burden to find new means of work to support their families, puttingnew demands on their roles, effort and time. With the erosion of, or decliningaccess to, common-pool resources like beaches, mangroves and grazing lands,they find it increasingly difficult to get supplementary income sources.

6. FISHERS PERCEPTIONS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE AND

FISHERIES

The following sections present the key findings from the interactions with thefishers in the selected locations and are thus about thefishers perceptions about climatechangerather than about climate changeper se, although it incorporates additionalinformation, insights and analysis obtained in interactions with other relevantstakeholders.

Prior to presenting the findings, one other point ought to be clarified. This relatesto the need to maintain a sense of proportion in understanding climate changefrom two opposite perspectives:

On the one hand, climate change needs to be understood as a process alreadyat work, although not always visible because it is covered under a welter ofother concerns. In fact, in the fisheries sector, climate change is probably not anew problem at all; fishers have been experiencing its impacts since before the

term itself acquired popular currency. Consequently, it is not often possible todifferentiate climate-change issues from wider processes affectingfisheries, and itis probably just as well because climate change itself is the cumulative outcome of severalsuch actions and processes at different levels within and beyond the fisheries sector. This is

important to keep in mind in order to avoid ascribing climate change to someimpersonal, global force or to consign it to a rarefied technical no-entry area, thusavoiding the responsibility of local and more immediate factors to the process.

On the other hand, there is need to curb the tendency to ascribe every change in

fisheries (or any other sector/activity) to climate change, as appears increasinglyto be the case, ignoring the othermore immediatefactors that need equalattention. Given the prevailing situation in fisheries, climate change will need to


23/72

SAMUDRAMonograph


be understood as one more layer in a complex web of factors affecting fisheriesand fishing communities. While several changes in the sector could possibly linkup with climate change, the cause-and-effect relationships are seldom linear or

clear, and are frequently overlapping or interchanging. Under the circumstances,ascribing everyor even anychange directly or solely to climate change wouldcall for abundant caution.

7. KEY CLIMATE-CHANGE FACTORS AFFECTING FISHERIES

Based on the literature review and the scoping workshop, a set of issues relating toclimate change and climate variability was identified as having significant impacts(real and potential) upon Indian fisheries. In this section, a summary of the keychanges relating to each climate-change/variability issue is provided from thefishers perspectives.

7.1 SEA-LEVEL RISE

Sea-level rise is considered to be an important manifestation of global warming.In field interactions, sea-level rise did not come up as an issue in any of the study

villages. Obviously, a 2-mm increase in sea level is rather difficult to perceive unlessone is particularly watching for it. But that is a rather simplistic understanding of

the issue; the increase in sea level is reported to manifest itself in a number ofways, affecting waves, currents and bottom pressure in the nearshore regions2. Asthe following sections will show, such manifestations of sea-level rise are beingfelt by the fishers, although the link between the different phenomena needs to

be conclusively established. More recent work by CMFRIin Maharashtra indicatesthat some 75 coastal villages are vulnerable to inundation due to a projected1-m rise in sea level, expected to happen over 20-50 years (Dr VV Singh, pers.comm).

7.2 SEA-SURFACE TEMPERATURE

Sea-surface temperature is considered to be an indicator of ocean variabilityas well as more complex ocean processes. As with sea-level rise, the fishers areunable to perceive a rise in sea temperature as a result of climate change. In

Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, it is reported that temperatures have increasedboth at the surface and even more at the bottom, but this is attributed to intensivedrilling, industrial discharges (especially the atomic power plant discharges inMaharashtra), chemical effluents and urban wastes. Not only are these sources

more immediate, but the heat generated by these activities is so much greater thanthe natural global-warming process that the latter remains mostly hidden. Onepossible impact of rising sea-surface temperature being felt by the fishers might


24/72

SAMUDRAMonograph


relate to the changing fish composition in their catches. The small-scale gillnetfishers of Andhra Pradesh have reported that the depth of the surface gillnets,

which was four fathoms in the 1980s, has now gone up to nine fathoms; the

fishers contend that the pelagic species have descended to the lower layers fromthe surface due to variation in surface-water temperature.

7.3 SEA-SURFACE SALINITY

Sea-level rise could mean incursion of sea water into the coastal and upstreamareas, making groundwater more saline, harming freshwater fisheries, aquacultureand agriculture, and limiting industrial and domestic water uses. There is muchevidence of increased salinity in the nearshore seawater, in the creeks and rivers,

and in the groundwater in certain locations. However, the critical factor whichcontributes to the increased salinisation of the coastal areas is not so much thesea-level rise as the drastic reduction in freshwater flows from the upstream.In all States, there is a strong perception that freshwater inflows into the seahave decreased considerably. In Andhra Pradesh, the sinking of bore wells foraquaculture in the 1990s has reportedly salinised the groundwater table, while in

West Bengal, the construction of the Farakka Barrage and increased upstreamdemand for freshwater are reported to have reduced freshwater flows into thelower reaches of the coast. With weakenedflows from the upstream, the seawaterintrudes higher up in the creeks and rivers, and stays longer in the absence of astrong push from above. This affects the local ecological and biological conditions;howeverexcept in some places in Andhra Pradeshthere is as yet limitedevidence of salinisation of groundwater resources in the coastal areas.

7.4 WIND PATTERNS

In all four States, it has been reported that there have been significant changes inintensity and directional stability of winds over the last 20 years. The most critical

change, with implications on fishing activities, has been the uncertainties in thedirection of wind flows. Three broad trends are discernible:

The seasonal wind patterns have changed; winds that should arrive atparticular periods of the year do not appear on time, which leads to anoverall disturbance in fishing conditions.

The stability of wind flows in particular directions is very uncertain; a windflows in a particular direction for a short duration before it changes andflows in a different direction. Sometimes, the change in direction takes only

15 minutes to happen.

Some unusual winds have gained strength, while favourable winds havebecome sluggish.


25/72

SAMUDRAMonograph


Overall wind velocities have reportedly decreased, especially in the nearshorewaters. While generally conceded to be a natural phenomenon, the constructionof high-rise buildings on the coast is suggested in Maharashtra as one possible

reason for this. The decrease in wind velocities is reported to have impacted uponthe currents, upwelling processes, fish movements, navigation and fishing effort.

At the same time, freak occurrences of very intense windscausing tremendouslosses within a very short timeare increasing.

7.5 SEASONALITY AND SEASONAL PATTERNS

The fishers are as dependent on the monsoons as the farming communities, andthe consequences of a poor or delayed monsoon are just as hard for them. The

timely arrival of monsoons, especially the southwest monsoon, remains the mostcritical requirement for productive fisheries. Increasingly, the monsoons havebecome quite irregular; even when they arrive on time, they seem less consistent intheir behaviour. Staggered monsoons playing hide-and-seek and staying on muchlonger than usual (the southwest monsoon remaining active into November),

and shifting and shrinking trends in the onset of the northeast monsoon (fromOctober-December to November-December) have been reported as becomingthe norm.

With changing seasonal patterns, fish availability has been affected, and someimportant seasonal fish species have reportedly declined in catches. In AndhraPradesh, there is a reduction in intensity and duration of the southeast andeast-southeast day winds during summer, affecting the arrival of small pelagicshoals. Unseasonal events are reportedly on the rise, which include heavy rainsduring the peak summer, and high temperatures (above 35 degrees Centigrade)during September-October. Such changes are reported to have an impact on thebehaviour, breeding and migratory patterns of fish, especially in the Sundarbans

and in the Coringa mangroves of Andhra Pradesh. In West Bengal, where culturefisheries and agriculture are important livelihood activities for fishers, this isreported to lead to mass mortalities, stunted growth and spread of diseases inculture operations, and severe upsets in seasonal cycles in agriculture.

7.6 RAINFALL

There have been some critical trends in rainfall patterns from year to year andwithin each year. Heavy downpours in certain years are followed by near-drought

conditions in the following years, both being equally disastrous for fishing andother activities. Even within a year, rainfall is not spread evenly through a season;the entire annual rainfall occurs within a very short period, creating problems,


26/72

SAMUDRAMonograph


both immediate (swamping) and long-term (reduced upwelling). Thus, whilethe total annual rainfall may remain constant, its distribution being not uniformthrough the season means a severe upset of fishing and other activities.

Sudden rains

Sudden and intense downpours are a rising phenomenon that has hadcatastrophic effects on fish-drying operations in Maharashtra and AndhraPradesh, effectively wiping out the business investments of a sizeable numberof women. In both these States, the heavy, short-term, rainfall swamps thecoastal villages and leads to waterlogging for extended periods of time,especially where natural water outlets have been extensively built over. Yetanother hazard from short, intensive, downpours has been the flushing away

of large quantities of land pollutants (near industrial areas) all of a suddeninto the sea, leading to mass kills of nearshorefish.

The showers that signalled the onset of the southwest monsoon and that persistedfor two or more weeks at a stretch (a phenomenon that in most States has aspecific name and carries special economic, social and cultural connotations) havebecome rare. This seasonal downpour helped to churn the coastal waters and

ensured upwelling, while also facilitating copious flows of freshwater into thesystem, which enabled fish breeding.

7.7 NATURAL DISASTERS

Ocean warming plays a major role in sea-level rise, intensified cyclone activity andheightened storm surges. For the fishers, especially those in Andhra Pradesh andKerala, the uniquebut devastatingtsunami of 2004 is a major indicator ofclimate change. Apart from the direct loss of lives and livelihood assets, the tsunami

also left behind several other long-lasting impactsbiological, geographical/geological, economic and socialand still remains a largely inexplicable and

terrifying phenomenon for the fishers.

The fishers observed that there have been changes relating to the location,frequency, direction and intensity of cyclones. In general, there is a relative declinein the number of cyclones and low-pressure areas along the coast. Contrary to thegeneral perception of the cyclone as a destructive force, the fishers contend thatit also has a more benign aspect in that it helped churn the sea, ensuring upwelling

of nutrients from the deep, and helping the rapid transport of plankton massesfrom one area to another. The last major cyclone to have hit the central zone of

Andhra Pradesh was the one in November 1996, a full 15 years ago. That it struck


27/72

SAMUDRAMonograph


an unusual spot (the relatively safer Godavari delta) not only affected the responsetime, but is also taken as an indication of change in the usual cyclonic patterns.

While there has been a general weakening in the seasonal cyclones that occurred atspecific times during the year (May and November, in the case of Andhra Pradesh),the few cyclones that have hit the coast during the last 15 years have been far morecatastrophic than the previous ones. The cyclone of 1996 in Andhra Pradesh, the'super cyclone' of Orissa in 1998, and Cyclone Aila of 2009 in West Bengal are

considered to be the most grievous of their kind to have hit the respective coasts.These cyclones were not only more intense, but also covered a more extensivearea further inshore than ever before. Thousands of houses were partially or fullydestroyed, and millions left homeless. In all these cases, the influx of seawater

deep into the inland led to salinisation of the land and groundwater resources,making them unfit for agriculture for long periods, and creating drinking-waterscarcity in the areas.

The transformation of cyclones from seasonal occurrences to irregular happeningshas also resulted in inadequate preparedness of the coastal communities andgovernment agencies to cope with them when they do occur. Thus, for instance,in Andhra Pradesh, three years of noor minorcyclones prior to 2010 wasfollowed in that year by as many as four cyclone threats, leading to serious disarray

within the administrative machinery.

Apart from the cyclones, the other serious natural disaster that the fishers facedearlier was the annual floods of the major river systems like the Ganga and

the Godavari. Apart from their disastrous consequences for fish habitats, theyalso had a positive impact in terms of allowing a good mix of fresh and saline

waters, cleaning up the rivers and creeks, flushing out the siltation from the rivermouths, rejuvenating the coastal freshwater aquifers, and helping in the survivalof mangroves. With uncertain rainfall year on year, and with the construction ofdams across the major rivers, the annual floods have given way to more irregular,frequently man-made, events, which are far more catastrophic. Moreover, thesteps taken to control floods have had their own implications. The bunds builtin the Sundarbans to protect the human habitation from flooding have beencounterproductive on at least two counts: (i) the process of flooding would helpin depositing silt outside. (With the construction of bunds, this process has beendisruptedthe silt remains in the river, elevating the river bed. Thus, the river isoften seen to be flowing much above the land lying on the other side of the bund.

This makes the bunds very prone to bursting and spilling.); (ii) the soft, unsettledsoil makes the base of the bunds very unstable, putting them at risk of being sweptaway by the pressure of tidal or flood waters.


28/72

SAMUDRAMonograph


Localized disasters

Alongside such large-scale occurrences as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and

Cyclone Aila, there is an impression that the nature and scope of disastershas also become more localized, and their implications are more diffuse.Examples include:

freak waves hitting one or a few boats at sea (Andhra Pradesh);

individual villages (or specific households within a village) sufferingfrom sudden swamping (Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh);

the coastline getting eroded in a particular area, making the surf

crossing more difficult and leading to frequent capsize of boats (AndhraPradesh);

erosion leading to total loss of beaches in a few locations, wiping outthe local beach-seine fisheries, reducing space for local fish landing, boatberthing, net mending and fish trade (Andhra Pradesh);

a river course changing overnight to swamp or engulf a Sundarbansvillage (West Bengal);

sudden downpours wiping out the investments of a section of thefishing communities (Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra); and

unpredictable upwelling causing accidents in Kerala.

7.8 WAVES AND CURRENTS

In most places, it was seen that the intensification of waves in one area iscomplemented by a weakening of the same in the neighbourhood. The cyclical

pattern that characterized the movement of waves to the coast appears to bebroken; rogue waves keep intruding into the cycle. The wave action in the coastal

waters has become weaker as a result of weakening nearshore winds and increasedsiltation around river mouths. There is a perception that there has been a reductionin wave height, frequency and intensity. At the same time, wave action is much

stronger in places where:

beaches have been eroded and/or built over extensively;

reclamation of land has taken place in the neighbourhood;

natural barriers like mangroves have declined; and

new barriers to water movement (like jetties and harbours) have come up.


29/72

SAMUDRAMonograph


The stronger wave action in these areas is reported to (i) destroy homes and otherstructures closer to the coast, and (ii) capsize boats as they near the coast andoccasionally destroy them by dashing them against the shore. In the offshore or

deep-sea waters, where the mechanized boats of Maharashtra, Kerala and WestBengal are increasingly operating, the waves are reported to have become stronger,leading to more pitching and rolling than previously. In West Bengal, the problemof increased pitching and rolling was highlighted as a major issue.

Currents in the nearshore waters have changed course for various reasons, bothnatural and man-made. Construction of harbours has been reported to contributeto significant changes in water currents in the nearby areas. Offshore, watercurrents may have changed course in areas where oil rigs and shipping movements

prevail. Sudden and strong currents have been noted to be on the increase inKerala and Andhra Pradesh waters, while the southern currents (thekkan neeru) thatfavoured the fishermen in Kerala have weakened. There is a reported weakeningof currents in the creeks in both Sundarbans and in Coringa (Andhra Pradesh).Siltation is reported to have reduced water currents in the creeks of Vasai and

Versova in Maharashtra.

7.9 TIDAL ACTION

Changes in tidal action are felt particularly in the estuarine regions, and evidenceof both increase and decrease in tidal amplitude has been reported in the fourStates. An important (natural) phenomenon appears to be thefluctuations in tidalcycles based on the lunar phases. This is reflected in changes in fish availability inthe creeks, where the operations are largely influenced by the tidal cycle. Increasein tidal influx from the sea is said to be caused due to less freshwater flows fromupstream, and contributes to increased salinity along the upper reaches. Erosion

of beaches has led to increased inundation of fishers houses during the high-tide

period in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Islands like Gosaba in the Sundarbansalso suffer periodical inundation of the bunds and incursion of waters into the

village as a result of higher tidal amplitude in the area.

Coastal constructions, siltation at the river mouths and along the creeks, andconstruction of tidal locks/bunds upstream reportedly decreased tidal action inseveral areas. As a consequence, the backwaters and tidal pools receive less tidal

waters, and this reduces the breeding and nursery grounds for several estuarinespecies. Reduced tidal amplitude in the creeks also affects crab populations and

aquaculture operations. It also makes the boats passage through some creeks, andusage of some berthing places, impossible, requiring longer detours and berthingof boats away from the villages, all of which have attendant problems.


30/72

SAMUDRAMonograph


Vembanad Lake, Kerala

With the construction of the Thanneermukkam barrage, the tidal influx into

Vembanad Lake in Kerala has stopped during months when the shuttersare down. Prawns and other fishes that used to reach the lake for breedinghave disappeared. Fish catches in the lake have reduced and have becomeunpredictable (with respect to the lunar cycle). Reduced interaction betweenthe backwaters and the sea has led to changes in the local ecosystem.

7.10 MUD FLOWS AND TURBIDITY

Mudfl

ows from upstream, which carried soil and nutrients to the lower reachesof the rivers, have declined in all States, mainly on account of reduced waterflows, but also due to sand mining further upstream. Reduced mudflows decreasethe nutrient content in the coastal waters, with consequences on fish breedingand nursery grounds. However, turbiditywhich used to be mainly an outcomeof mud flowshas increased due to effluent discharges upstream as well asdirectly into the coastal/estuarine waters. Turbidity has also been reported to haveincreased due to construction activities on, or near, creeks and beaches; oil spills

from rigs and passing ships; and intensive drilling activities on the sea bed. The

turbid waters now consist of both suspended solids (which clog the nets andfishgills) and dissolved matter (poisoning the waters and leading to mass mortalitiesof small fish).

The fishers of Andhra Pradesh reported that the water discharges during thesouthwest monsoon are more turbid than previously, and that the dischargesconsist more of dissolved matter. The seafloor is increasingly muddy, and theinshore waters more turbid, as a result. In West Bengal, changes in the rainfallpatternsfrom being uniformly spread through the season to fewer, moreintensive, spellsare reported to lead to sudden increases in turbidity that driveaway fish or kill them by clogging their gills. In the nearshore waters, the extentof turbidity is reported to have increased to an extent where the fishers cannotidentify fish shoals based on the colour of water, as in the past.

The decrease in mud flows from the rivers is reported as a reason for the declineof chakara, the coastal mud banks formed along the coastal waters of Alappuzha

in Kerala. These acted as a protection against wave action for thefishers venturinginto the sea, and their depletion has made it difficult for them to cross the surfeasily. The fishers believe that the chakaradepletion was caused by the tsunamiof 2004. Some fishermen believe that the depletion of chakarawas also due to


31/72

SAMUDRAMonograph


the imbalance prevailing in the mixing of fresh water and salt water at the barmouths.

7.11 SHORELINE CHANGES

Erosion and sedimentation are the most significant factors affecting the coastalareas and fisheries. Erosion, which is reported to affect 23 per cent of the

shoreline along the Indian mainland (Vivekanandan, 2011:11), is a major threatfaced by many fishing communities in all four States. Most villagesincludingmajor fishing centres like Vasai in Maharashtra and Uppada in Andhra Pradeshno longer have a beach in which to berth the boats, land and trade the catches, drythe fish, and mend the nets. Even as many houses have been lost to the sea, space

available for housing itself has been reduced in erosion-prone areas. Erosionhas been the main reason for the loss of beaches; while diverse human actionsare contributing to the increased erosion, natural processes like the change in

wave patterns, and increased ferocity of cyclones and winds are perceived to besignificant too.

With erosion of the coast, the shoreline does not slope gently into the sea, allowingthe tides and waves to play out their energies before reaching the beach; it dropsabruptly into the sea, causing the waves to be more intense and damaging when

they hit the shoreline. Seawater intrusion into the villages is a perennial problemof increasing intensity in places like Satpaty and Vasai in Maharashtra and Uppada

in Andhra Pradesh.

An issue of concern is the contention of the fishers in the Coringa mangrovearea in Andhra Pradesh that the seaward side of the mangroves is being erodedsignificantly as well. This flies in the face of the idea that mangroves and othergreen belts are considered a protection against erosion. Given the multiplethreats that the mangroves are being subjected to in this areaoil explorationand refineries, shipping ports, aquaculture, effluent discharges from upstreamitis possible that the mangroves are reaching a threshold in terms of their naturalresilience to cope with external threats.

Erosion and siltation go hand in hand, which is the reason why in the neighbourhoodof the same areas being affected by erosion, there are problems of siltation thatare equally severe for the local fishers. Siltation of the river mouths (i) obstructsthe water flows from upstream; (ii) forms sand bars that obstruct fishing trafficin places like Satpaty; and (iii) changes the direction of water currents, tides and

waves, which get deflected in other directions, causing more erosion, changingfish movements and affecting the local biodiversity in various ways. In Coringa,


32/72

SAMUDRAMonograph


closure of certain creek mouths in the estuary is reported to have changed thelocal landscape, affected fish behaviour (mud crabs, which were prolifically caughtin the area, are fewer these days), and reduced space for breeding as well as the

nursery grounds for commercial species like the tiger prawn.

It is in the Sundarbans that sedimentation tends to be a critical problem. The deltais a naturally dynamic entity: the simultaneous processes of erosion at one end andsedimentation at the other (forming the chars) means that the delta keeps being

pushed downward into the sea, and the process has now reached a stage that it isencroaching upon what used to be considered as the richest shrimping groundsin the Bay of Bengal. Though a natural process, char formation is reported tobe increasingly influenced by upstream processes like construction of barrages,

expansion of towns at the expense of rivers (reducing their width), dredging, andship wrecks at the river mouths. The new chars are reported to cause diversion of

water channels, changing ecological conditions and upset fishing rhythms. Theformation of a new charoff Kakdwip reportedly acts as a major obstruction tofishing traffic, requiring long detours and consequent increase in time, effort andinvestment.

While erosion and sedimentation have always been a presence in the Sundarbans,they have undergone drastic changes in modern times. Sediments are not beingproperly flushed into the sea any more, with the consequence that the depth ofrivers and creeks is decreasing constantly. Some river courses have been diverted,

while several creeks have silted up. In some places like Kultuli, sedimentation has

reduced the river into a small stream, very difficult to navigate even during mid-tide. The meandering rivers erode their embankments, break the dykes and enterthe islands.

8. PROBABLE CAUSES OF CLIMATE-CHANGE ISSUES

AFFECTING FISHERIES

The causes ascribed by the fishers in the study areas to the different changesdiscussed in the foregoing section could be broadly categorized into three:

8.1 NATURAL FACTORS

Changes in weather patterns relating to wind, seasonality, rainfall and naturaldisasters are considered to be affected by natural processes, the causes for which

remain unknown. The 2004 tsunami is considered a major natural phenomenonin Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, with drastic impacts upon the sector. In theSundarbans, being a dynamic ecosystem, a number of natural processes are


33/72

SAMUDRAMonograph


constantly at work, which include the ecosystem-on-wheels phenomenon thatpushes the delta deeper into the sea. The increasing incidence of chars is reportedto be a natural phenomenon, increasingly supported by human actions.

However, more direct impacts such as sea-level rise, sea-surface temperaturesand changes in acidity/alkalinity (pH) levels, attributed to climate change, the ElNino Southern Oscillation phenomenon, and precipitation, are little understoodby fishers, let alone related to in a practical sense. This lack of awareness about

the inter-relationships between the global and local patterns of climate changeremains a gap in understanding its causes and consequences more meaningfully.

8.2 FISHERIES-RELATED FACTORS

Strictly speaking,fisheries-related factors make only a minimal contribution to theglobal climate-change phenomenon. However, several activities in the sector, suchas overfishing and destructive fishing practices, do upset the marine ecosystemsand fragile resources, thereby accelerating the climate-change processes.Examples of fisheries-related factors exacerbating the impacts of climate changeinclude: increasing fishing fleet size, engine powers and capacities; destructive orecologically unsound fishing practices; and poor engine and fuel efficiencies. Also,even where not directly contributing to climate change, these activities adversely

affect the health of the resource base, undermining fishers ability to cope withthe changes.

8.3 EXTERNAL (NON-FISHERIES-RELATED) FACTORS

CONTRIBUTING TO CHANGES

These are by far the most important causative factors with immediate impactsupon the sustainability of fisheries activities and longer-term impacts upon climatechange, as well as the ability of the community to cope with such changes. They

originate from diverse sources and vary from place to place, which makes it verydifficult to pinpoint them or to suggest measures to address them. Nevertheless,as the discussion shows, it is vital to understand the diversity of factors that arein play in each local context, and to formulate appropriate adaptation strategiesthat are effective in each context. The impact of the external factors onfisheriesis manifested in several ways.

I. POLLUTION

Pollution is a critical problem in all the four States visited, and its sources areas diverse as their effects on the fisheries and fishers. Sources of pollution indifferent study areas included: industries; urban/municipal wastes; tourism;


34/72

SAMUDRAMonograph


agriculture; aquaculture and hatcheries; shipping and sea ports; mining; nuclear/

thermal power plants; oil refineries; and dredging and drilling activities (both

nearshore and offshore).

In the villages covered in Maharashtra (close to Mumbai city), the sources of

pollution appeared to be much more widespread and virulent than in the other

States. Oil leakages from pipelines and oil rigs are reported to form into a black

tar-like substance that covers large patches of sea surface and drifts to the shore,

killing large numbers of fish in the process. The creeks in Versova and Satpaty are

considered by one expert to be one step ahead of being dead: the vegetation

and the fisheries are dead in any case, and the creeks now pose serious human-

health hazards as well. Effluent discharges have silted up the bottom of the

creeksin case of Versova, the average depth of the creeks is reported to havedecreased from 10 fathoms to two fathoms, which affects the efficient flushing

out of toxicants. It is reported that a large proportion of the mass obstructing the

water flows into the Arabian Sea off Maharashtra consists of polythene covers

and plastic bottles, which are also the main catch for anyfisher attempting to fish

in the nearby waters. In Andhra Pradesh, as one fisherman remarked, A large

part of the catches in beach-seines consist not of fish, but of plastic bottles and

polythene bags! Vembanad Lake in Kerala is affected by large quantities of solid

waste being dumped into it, while plastic wastes are reportedly contributing toclogging some of its channels.

In the Godavari delta areas of Andhra Pradesh, the untreated hot effluent

discharged by the coastal industries directly into the sea is reported to lead to

mass fish kills, and a consumer avoidance of fish from the entire area. Periodical

effluent discharges from the sugar and other industries, as well as agricultural

runoffs from upstream Godavari, pass through the numerous creeks downstream

and leave devastation in their wake: mass deaths of all fish in the creeks, skin

allergies and other health problems. The pertinent point to note here is the seriousconcern voiced by all fishers: that with more industries coming up all along the

coast, there is every reason to believe that the pollution issue is likely to become

moreand not lesssevere.

In West Bengal, sewage from Kolkata, mixed with that of several towns downstream,

is supposed to have an impact on the Sundarbans. Effluents from the various

upstream industries, as well as from the port, are reportedly discharged untreated

into the rivers, with severe consequences downstream. As a fisherman in Kultuli

explained, the reason why the Bangladesh side of the Sundarbans is flourishingmore than the Indian side in spite of the fact that the latter is protected through


35/72

SAMUDRAMonograph


a stringent conservation regime is that there are fewer upstream industries on theBangladesh side, and hence less pollution to affect the mangroves.

II. SHORELINECHANGES

The key shoreline changes brought about by external factors relate to increasederosion in some places, accompanied by excessive sedimentation in others. It isseen in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh that upstream sand-mining activitiesincrease erosion along the coast, while sand mining from natural coastal barrierslike sand dunes aggravates the rate of coastal erosion and increases the vulnerabilityof fishing habitations.

Alongside natural processes of siltation, dumping of inorganic wastes as well asother activities such as land reclamation and sand mining, construction of barragesand new irrigation channels contributes to increased siltation and clogging ofthe estuaries and river mouths downstream. In West Bengal, encroachment ofhuman settlements into the river banks gradually decreases the width of the riversand water channels, expediting the processes of erosion and siltation furtherdownstream. In Andhra Pradesh, the construction of a new Godavari Anicut

during 1977-86, increasing the full reservoir level (FRL) from the original three m

to 13 m drastically reduced the water flows downstream, affecting the mangrove

and other local biota, as well as increasing the processes of siltation andsedimentation. Construction of harbours, ports and fishing jetties, and land-reclamation activities also contribute to changing the course of the waves andcurrents, which begin to erode the coast in the neighbouring areas. The intensity ofhuman activities in the Kakinada Bay has led to serious doubts about the survivalof Hope Island, whichif it happenscould have catastrophic consequencesfor Kakinada city and its surroundings.

Mumbai has been facing increasing problems with waterlogging over the last

decade because of rampant construction activities that obstruct the naturaldrainage processes, so the water remains locked inside the city. Construction ofcheck dams and other obstructions to the natural flow of water in the creeks isreported to cause periodical swamping of fishing hamlets like Moregaon, whicheffectively bear the brunt of development activities elsewhere.

An important shoreline change in many parts of both Maharashtra and Kerala isthe sea walls constructed for protection of the coastal areas from erosion. Thefishers consider the sea walls to be only partly effective, managing temporarilyto shift the problem to the neighbouring villages, which get eroded themselveseventually. The sea walls in most places are already yielding to erosion and lack of


36/72


37/72

SAMUDRAMonograph


of fishing communities from their traditional habitats. Increasing urbanizationincreases pollution, and puts pressure on basic resources like transport, drinking

water and electricity.

9. CONSEQUENCES OF THE CHANGES UPON THE LIVES

AND LIVELIHOODS OF FISHERS

This section summarises the broad trends characterizing the impacts of climatechange upon the lives and livelihoods of the fishers, under different heads.

9.1 FISH RESOURCES

Fishers in all four States are unanimous in the assertion that the catches ofcommercially important fish from the open-sea fisheries as well as from theestuarine fisheries have declined over the last decade. The estuarine fisheries inMumbai and Thane districts of Maharashtra are dead. Despite the declines, themain targeted species in all States remain the same as before. The quantities oflandingsespecially per boathave come down, while a large proportion of thesecatches consists of juveniles and smaller fish, suggesting biological overfishing.

According to the fishers themselves, 50 per cent or more of their catches of

commercial fish consist of juveniles or immature fish (that is, fish that have notyet had an opportunity to breed), and their proportion could go well beyond 70per cent during the post-monsoon period.

The seasonal cycle that influences the appearance of specific varieties of fishin different seasons is reported to be changing and becoming more uncertain;availability of a fish in the wrong season is considered as much a problem as

its non-availability during the correct season, as the existing post-harvest andtrade arrangements are unable to cope with the sudden influx of unexpected fish.

There is unanimity of opinion thatfish are abandoning their traditional nearshorehabitats and moving into deeper waters. Some demersal species, including shrimp,

which were caught close to the shore, are now caught in deeper waters. Threereasons have been suggested: (i) intensive fishing in the nearshore waters; (ii)increased pollution and other land-based activities affecting the coastal waters,and (iii) changes in the natural ecosystems influencing fish behaviour. The last isreported to have been particularly noticeable in the aftermath of the tsunami inKerala and Andhra Pradesh.

With the destruction of traditional fish breeding and nursery grounds, severalspecies which would appear in the mangroves during the breeding seasons havemoved away. Most breeding migrations (especially of hilsa in the Godavari and


38/72


39/72

SAMUDRAMonograph


quite close to the coast during the southwest monsoon until recently. There arefew reports of new species appearing in the local catches. Sardinesan indicatorspecies as far as sea-surface temperature increase is concernedhave always

prevailed in all four States. Two changes, however, may have happened:

In Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, it is said the quantum of sardinelandings has increased over the last 10-15 years; in Andhra Pradesh, theincreased availabilityand marketabilityof sardines is considered to be

the reason for the proliferation of the ring-seines. Conversely, it is suggestedthat the sardines had always been there, and it is only the introduction ofring-seines that increased their landings. Still, the occurrence of huge sardineshoals off the Godavari river mouths, where they had been less prevalent

before, indicates a changing distribution pattern.

In Andhra Pradesh, where a species of lesser sardines ( Sardinella gibbosa;guddi kawwallu) predominated earlier, it is the oil sardine (Sardinella longiceps;nooni kawwallu) that has increased in the catches.

Simultaneously, in Kerala, which is the traditional home for sardines andmackerels, the two species have moved away from local waters and also shifted todeeper waters. Several important species of fish and high-value shrimp too have

become rare in the catches, while some traditional species in Vembanad Lake havereportedly disappeared. In West Bengal, octopus and creek loach are reported tohave been new appearances in the Sundarbans. Also reported in the same area arelarge groupers, essentially a marine species, which may indicate increasing salinity

in the Sundarbans. In Kerala, puffer fish has become abundant and are seen as amajor cause of destruction of fishing nets.

The fishers opined that fish caught in the nearshore waters where industrial andother human activities are widespread look somewhat different in terms of size,

shape and colour. Stunted growth and abnormal shapes or protrusions are seenin such fish. An important concern raised by the fishers in Andhra Pradesh,especially from Visakhapatnam district, relates to the proliferation of deadfishingzones, which act as a sink to absorb toxic pollutants and where no fish or evenplankton can grow; it is said that there are some 20-30 dead fishing zones off

Visakhapatnam coast alone.

9.2 OTHER COASTAL RESOURCES

The mangroves in the Sundarbans are reportedly in good health, and it is evenlikely that their extent has increased over time. However, the larger changes in the

overall environment have led to some changes in the Sundarbans ecosystem as


40/72

SAMUDRAMonograph


well. Some important species of sundari (Heretiera fomes), rhizophora, nypa (Nypa

fruticans), etc. have declined. The sundari has become less robust, growing crooked,and its seed frequently rotting away without taking root. It is said that there are more

salt-tolerant varieties than previously, indicating that there has been an increase insalinity in the Sundarbans. While not as robust as the Sundarbans, the mangrovesof Coringa in Andhra Pradesh seem to be surviving, though increasingly under

various external stresses. From the fishers perspective, the extent of mangroves

has decreased, and much of the fisheries-related biodiversity has declined. Thesize of the mangrove trees has reportedly decreased, so the height of the forestitself is reduced. In either case, there is no perceived correlation between thechanging mangrove composition and fish behaviour or breeding patterns.

Maharashtra presents the bleakest picture of the state of mangroves: whereverthey had existed, most mangroves have either been destroyed for developmentpurposes or are dying out due to various pressures. Near Moregaon, wheremangroves existed, it is reported that the booming real estate value in the area ledto the mangroves being levelled to make way for the construction of colleges andeven housing for some senior administrators.

Besides the mangroves, casuarina plantations (in Andhra Pradesh) and coconutplantations (in Kerala) formed major coastal vegetation, and, in both cases, there

has reportedly been a decline. Reduced greenery in coastal areas is said to be theresult of space becoming a major constraint with erosion as well as the growingdemand for land. As a result, even existing green belts are removed to make wayfor new activities.

9.3 FISHING SYSTEMS

The various changes in the ecosystems,fish resources and the economic conditionsof fishing have led to a decline in the small-scale and artisanal fishing systems,

which depended upon the inshore waters for their existence. In Andhra Pradesh,the traditional fishing systemswooden log kattamarams (catamarans) and 'shoedhonis'are declining, as also the use of sails as a means of propulsion. In theSundarbans (Jharkhali and Gosaba), the fishers reported that the number of

traditional boats has decreased by half in the last decade. Where such small-scaleactivities continue to exist, it is mostly as subsistence operations. The adaptivestrategies undertaken by the more modern small-scale fishers (FRP boats in

Andhra Pradesh, dol-netters and purse-seiners in Maharashtra and Kerala) arecostly and frequently transform the boats so much that it is no longer possible toclassify them as traditional or small-scale. Overall, there has been a reductionin the number of fishing days, and the fishers aver that most of the trips do notrecoup their costs.


41/72


42/72

SAMUDRAMonograph


9.5 FISHING CONDITIONS

In all States, with increased fishing distances, basic navigation and other activitieshave become more difficult. While the overall number of fishing days by small-scale boats has decreased, the number has increased (over fewer fishing trips)in case of the larger fishing vessels like trawlers and dol-netters. Such changesdo mean harder working conditions and additional pressure on the physical andemotional wellbeing of the crew. Siltation in the creeks and river mouths makesnegotiating into the fishing grounds more difficult as it requires long roundaboutdiversions, with implications on time, effort and expense. In Uppada, the erosionof the beach requires the fishers to take their boats into a creek about two km

to the north for berthing, giving rise to logistical and security concerns. For the

fishing crews in West Bengal, travelling longer distances from the coast and facingthe risk of straying into Bangladesh waters raises several concerns relating tosafety as well as overall wellbeing. A more serious problem is the Sundarbans tigerreserve, where the tigers are less feared than their armed custodians. Charges offrequent harassment and fines are routine.

The changing conditions in fishers access to fishing grounds require them toswitch from their traditional beach-based operations to central locations suchas fishing harbours. The centralization of fish landings requires the boatsand

traders, especially womento travel longer distances to get to the harbours,incurring extra costs and loss of rest time. For women of fishing communities,this also means declining access to fish, particularly higher-value fish, given thehigher competition at such centralized locations from economically powerfultraders and exporters.

9.6 FISHING INVESTMENTS AND RETURNS

In Maharashtra, a dol-netter costs up to Rs3 mn (56,931 USD) to build, and the

annual operating costs for one boat could be in the range of Rs2 mn (37,945USD). Naturally, few people are able to own and operate the dol-netters with theirown resources. All the same, the continuing National Co-operative DevelopmentCorporation (NCDC)support and the relatively good returns fromfishing seem toencourage several crew members to become boatowners themselves. The averageincome from fishing to the owners and the crew in Maharashtra remains higherthan in other sectors, and significantly so when compared to fishing incomes in the

other three States. In Kakdwip and Namkhana in West Bengal,fishing is considereda high-investment affair, with less certainty of good returns. Even in the estuarinefisheries of the Sundarbans, there is a reported increase in investmentsfor ice,transport of catches on motorized boats, and for monofilament nets that requiremore frequent replacement than the nylon or cotton nets used earlier.


43/72

SAMUDRAMonograph


Andhra Pradesh presents a fairly similar picture to West Bengal, with probablya larger idle capacity in mechanized fishing. Only half the mechanized boatsin Kakinada are reported to operate at any given time of the year. Although

occasional good fishing seasons and bumper harvests still occur, the uncertaintyof the whole operation makesfishers and traders unwilling to take risks with freshinvestments. In the small-scale sector, it is said that for every new ring-seine boatconstructed, 10 traditional boats disappear from the sector. Overall, the incomes

from fishing in Andhra Pradesh are falling, and the fishers frequently fare worsein comparison with wage labour in other sectors like agriculture.

The situation is not much different in Kerala, although fisheries in the State aredeveloped on stronger and more robust foundations to be able to overcome the

predicament facing the Andhra Pradeshfishers. Traditionalfisheries are consideredto have been caught in a spiral of increasing investment and operational costs,coupled with progressively falling catches per boat, which reflect on the effectivereturns. In the mechanized sector, only people with sufficiently deep pockets toinvest large sums on a consistent basis are able to survive.

The most significant aspect of fishing in all four States is the high level ofindebtedness prevailing in the sector, covering all types of stakeholders, althoughthe boatowners are, by far, the most affected. While in Maharashtra and, possibly,Kerala, the indebtedness can be considered to be in the nature of a usual businesstransaction, thanks to the access to NCDC and Matsyafed support, the samecannot be said of the

Documents

ICSF Climate Change and Fisheries Perspectives From SSF, Nov 2011